Retreat Day Five -- The Long Way Home

ACK --- I feel like I'm missing out on something. The more I talk about the Bruce Trail, the more I hear stories of people who have hiked the trail or are currently hiking it. I need new friends -- ones that are hikers! And we need a support person to ferry us to and from sleeping accommodations each day! 

I may never walk the entire thing, but I will walk part of it. The trail goes close to where I live, so YES -- I have walked part of it already. But a short section. 

So this happened yesterday. I had gotten up early and was ready to sew, and I had a mission. I was a few seams away from finishing my bed runner, and I ran out of thread on the top, never mind the bobbin! I was sewing with the lid shut and knew that I was close to the end of the spool, but I didn't realize I was that close until BOOM - I ran out of thread. Luckily, I had a spare spool in the toolbox, and I was good to go. 

Ran out of top thread

Paula made a jelly roll rug while we were at the retreat. She made the rope on the second day and then decided to get the rug together yesterday. It looks fantastic, and it's pretty darn flat!

Paula's jelly roll quilt

Laura got one-third of her Postcards from Sweden quilt done. Yep -- I really think that thing could be randomly sewn together. The only thing, and I'm not sure if I've ever noticed this on pictures of the original one, but there are squares created by the values. Again -- that would be easy to achieve by randomly putting it together. 

Now I'm intrigued to see the difference between the original and a randomly positioned setting. I should dig out the squares I cut to make this quilt and get it together! Maybe the next retreat. 

Ronda was working on a Laura Heine collage quilt. She had some of the tracing done before the retreat but made excellent progress. It's a giant snowglobe, and there are bits around the edges to define it. 

Ronda's snow globe wall hanging

And here are three of the 24 kitchen towels that were made. They had a neat little handle that fits over the handle of the stove. Cute!  We got the link from Katheleen's sister on how to make them. I don't have the link handy, but I'll go back in my e-mails to find it. 

Three kitchen towels

And here's the gang of rowdy sewists just before we packed up to leave. It only took three tries to get a photo where I wasn't moving! 

The retreat group

And here it is!!! By 9 AM, the top was together in one piece!! I was so excited that I went for a walk, which I don't usually do on the last day. A shorter walk of almost 6 K. 

The completed bed runner

I binge-watched some baking shows and got some of the paper out when I got home. I've got about a quarter of the paper out. 

Some of the paper is removed

I still had some time before going home, so I had a hand project to work on. This is Lexi's favorite mat that usually resides in her kennel. However, someone chewed one corner, and I had ripped out the last couple of rows and rejoined the strips of fabric. Now it's back together again. The only thing that remains is to secure the final stitch with the sewing machine, so it doesn't unravel. 

Lexi's favorite mat

I made strips of fabric and folded them, so the cut edges were inside - pretty similar to what happens with the jelly roll rug, but no batting inside. Then I crocheted the rug. It's VERY HEAVY!! And if Murphy so much as sniffs at it -- well, she's going to be in the dog house if she touches it!

A corner of the crocheted mat

Speaking of the girls, they were happy to see me. But since DH had left for the airport couple of hours before I arrived home, I suspect they were more excited that someone would let them into the backyard. 

But they had to entertain me while I was ripping out the paper from my project. Murphy just looks like she's having a bad hair day!

Hey MOM --we are entertaining you!

And I swear, they are just crazy. I was lying on the couch to watch more of the baking show, and Lexi slept quietly in the big dog bed. Technically, we bought it for Murphy, and their quilt was hanging out of it, but Murphy wanted to sleep in the bed, so she ousted Lexi and climbed in herself, and Lexi had to sleep on the floor. 

Get out of my bed! This is MINE! Mom bought it for me!

Technically, it's big enough for both of them, but that would never do. 

So when I arrived home, I quickly emptied the car and took things upstairs or downstairs as needed. I didn't get everything unpacked, and I didn't touch any sewing last night or this morning. I didn't even go to spin class this morning. I was wiped from all the excitement of the weekend. I'm OK with that. 

I did clean out my purse, though, which had become a dumping ground for a lot of crap. Now it's all clean again. 

Cleaning out the purse

When we first started going to retreats, the number of sweets that came was obscene. After much "lecturing," the numbers decreased. Well, it's time to start nagging again. The number of sweets that came was obscene. I tried very hard to resist everything, although I did succumb to a few more pieces than I would eat if I were at home. But when you are only seven people and each person brings enough for 15 people, that's a lot of sweets. I didn't buy any sweets for the last meal, as there was already so much.

I'll be making a new rule. Bring enough for one meal -- one sweet per person (I know -- I'm mean!) and NO MORE. If people want more snacks, then bring your own! It's amazing how we use food as a comfort thing or a way to bring joy to others, or a feeling of sharing or comradery. But -- if you're not careful, those sweets quickly add up, and they are a killer to take off the waistline. I have no problem eating them, but MODERATION. 

I know they had a quick exchange of sweets when everyone was packing up. I brought NOTHING home. 

I now have a couple of pounds to get rid of because of it, and I walked every day!!! Anyway -- enough of that. 

It's Monday sewing, and I have a ton of stuff to do - mostly tidying up and regrouping, but I hope to get some sewing done as well. And I need to look at the inbox at some point and the long arm. 

I've only got five presentations this week - the last week for a while. One per day! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Retreat Day Four -- One SMALL step at a time

Have you ever looked at a task as a whole and just about fainted because of what you have taken on? Oh yes -- that can be the most daunting thing in the world. How will I ever walk the equivalent of the distance across Canada? How will I ever finish these UFOs? The whole thing looks too much, and we fall off the wagon. 

I want to show you what happens when you take one small step at a time. You MUST keep that end goal in the back of your mind, but you can't let it get you down. 

Even though I'm at the retreat, my waistline isn't on vacation. My body just loves sweets and if I overeat, well, think of it this way: calories in, but no calories out -- my body isn't going to be too happy. So I was back out walking yesterday and managed to get over 12 KM in. I feel terrific about that -- it helps my mental health, not only my physical health!!

And by taking those steps every day, this is what happened. 

I'm now less than 100 KM from my end goal. Since January 1, 2020, I've walked 8,281.3 KM. When I started almost two years, I felt the task was impossible, but step by step - it happened. I've developed a NEW positive habit in my life, and there's no going back! I'll be the one who will drive the nursing home staff crazy as I race up and down the hallways with my walker. 

Now you don't need to be as ambitious as I am. You may not have the ability, nor the time. But perhaps you can set a goal of ONE KM (or mile) a day. Or maybe, you meditate for 5 minutes every day. We NEED to clear our minds of those damn screens at least part of the day. Between dogs and errands and just plain old mind-clearing, I feel like in seventh heaven. This is HUGE!!! 

The second "miracle" is this. 

The bed runner

This is what the bed runner looked like last night. It's a bit more together this morning -- yep  - I've been up for hours and quiet as a mouse in the house!!  I am NOT going home until it's in one piece. Thankfully, I've made good progress this morning, and that will be very doable and well before my scheduled departure. 

I remember at the last retreat that I finished the last seam right when I had scheduled to leave. I'm slightly ahead of schedule. That is a HUGE accomplishment, and I'm thrilled, to say the least. It's a UFO and a nasty one. Let's just say that I've had my fill of curved seams for a while. 

I didn't get to the other four projects I brought with me, but I'm just fine with that. It just shows that you can do ANYTHING if you put your mind to it. Trust me, I didn't want to do this - well, part of me did, and part of me did NOT. I didn't go shopping -- I don't need anything. I didn't get sidetracked by what the others were working on -- it was slow and steady with LOTS of breaks in between!!!

It appears that I can't count. Well, I didn't count -- I just made pieces for the papers I had with me. And this is what is leftover. Not enough to do anything with, but I'll figure out something to do with them. 

Extra bits

And I'm not being picky about matching that one seam in the center; however, if your seam allowances are good, this is what happens. Now, this is NOT every block, but enough to make me happy. 

Points match

This is the same block -- just the other end. Yep -- I can live with that. 

The other point in the block

Here's the latest on the Postcards from Sweden quilt. It's gorgeous with all those colors, but I think it would take half the time (or even less) to randomly sew those half square triangles together. 

Postcards from Sweden

And yes, like many people, we bought lottery tickets for the big draw the other night, but we didn't win the big one, although I think we won a free ticket. Next time -- we'll win next time!!!!  It's funny because we all want more money, but when I was out for a walk the other day and "dreaming" about how I would spend my share of the winnings, I really couldn't think of anything that I would want. Oh yes -- we all want to pay off the mortgage or bills or do some renovations, but there wasn't really one burning item that I would buy. 

Our lottery tickets

There is usually ONE item that everyone covets to make during any retreat. This time, a tea towel that cleverly fits over the stove handle. Someone was supposed to send me a photo of the finished tea towels on the stove, but they forgot. Not going to mention any names, Ronda!

Anyway, the instructions were on a video, and I don't know how many times I heard that video playing yesterday!! Here are the girls listening to the next set of instructions so they can get to work. 

Listening to a how-to video

In total, the group (but not me) made 24 of them. Paula made 10!!!  I'll have a picture tomorrow. I swear, there are NO tea towels left in this town. 

The weather has been bizarre, and I've been lucky in timing my walks, so the temperature has been very nice, although a bit windy at times. 

Here's one of the clouds from yesterday. This was the view from my sewing table. We called it a snow tornado, but I'm sure it was just the cloud. Anyway -- pretty cool. 

Snow tornado

Thanks to Karen and Helen Anne, who are way smarter than I am, I realized that we are very close to the Bruce Trail, which I want to walk in person! So Susan and I got in the car to check it out. It's too far away to walk too, but only a five-minute drive by car and probably less if you go the back road which we know how to get to. 

We stopped at the first parking lot. OK -- we see NO markers or signs. But we saw a little path leading off the parking lot. OH BOY -- this leads down a steep path to a small river. I don't think this is the Bruce Trail. 

A river near the parking lot

Across the road, we spotted another trail, so we went in that direction. Hmm -- it doesn't seem to be the Brue Trail either, but we got a good view of the parking lot! After our investigation, we think this upper trail is the backway to get to the Bruce Trail -- or should I say, one of the side trails leading to the main Bruce Trail. 

The parking area for the trails

Then we checked one of the other trailheads. Yep -- this is definitely the Bruce Trail. Well, at least it was a side trail to the main trail. Some small loops that would make good hikes. Sadly, we didn't check this out earlier - I won't get to it today, but we'll be back before you know it!!

Side loop to the Bruce Trail

And we saw a sign explaining all the blazes -- I've never seen that before so this was great. 

Explanation of the blazes for the trail

We drove to the third and final parking spot in the area, and this is Bruce Trail all the way. Here I am, standing beside the sign. 

Me beside the Bruce Trail marker

Thanks to Karen and Helen Anne for alerting me to this. You bet I'll be back and off on a Bruce Trail hike the next time I'm here. 

There is also a rail trail south of the town, so I'd like to check that out. I hate to get in the car to go for a walk, so I can walk on the road or get in the car and have a peaceful walk. Either way -- new stuff to check out!!! 

Sadly, today is our last day, and it's time to pack up the cars and go our separate ways. But after five days, I think we'll all be anxious to get home. I'm sure Murphy and Lexi are missing me - well, maybe not me, but they will be missing their walk!!

As the new year is approaching, remember the goal-setting I set out a couple of days ago. And remember that everything and anything is doable by ANYBODY  - it just won't happen overnight. You must plan, and practice, and be patient. DO NOT give up!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Quilt Retreat - Day Three - Some progress is made

 Here it is - -the morning of the 4th day of our retreat, and I'm making significant progress. I can't believe how quickly these days are passing. WOW!!!  We're settling comfortably into our "new" retreat house. It's close to us, and as we become more familiar with it, we're learning to like it as much as the old one. If you want to check it out -- it's called retreat at the Farm. Please note that our five days here are very unusual and were granted because of COVID and a few other minor details. Usually, you can book Monday to Thursday or Friday to Sunday. 

Thankfully, I was very reasonable when I packed my projects as I'm still working on that double wedding ring quilt, and I suspect that unless the pace picks up today, I'll still be sewing on it tomorrow. I love the results. Perhaps when I come to the next sewing retreat, I should bring that last double wedding ring quilt (the second one that belonged to Paula) and just get it done. It's pretty boring to do the same thing over and over for days, but I'm getting it done. 

Oh my -- I'm just looking in my UFO book, and I have a list of all the current projects I put on that table back home. I'm afraid to really look at the list because I bet many of them are still there. OH OH! I do see that some of them are gone, but I would suspect a few more got added!

A quick peek at the UFO list. I started this in 2017 and made a list of 12 substantial UFOs that have been around for a while. All the quilts in 2017 are done. Although there were only 12 projects on that first list, it resulted in 22 quilts!!

Regarding the 2018 list, there is ONE project on it: Enchanted Autumn, which I'm working on at home and am making excellent progress. 

Let's move to 2019. There are still six projects on that list, and one of them is this double wedding ring quilt. And there's one other one that I've advanced a lot, and I might be able to get done before the end of the year. That's my goal anyway. 

We won't chat about the 2020 or the 2021 lists as they are not in good shape, but once I put myself in gear, a lot of them would be easy enough to finish up. Let's see how it goes. 

I seem to be slow in making the double wedding ring quilt blocks, and it's very confusing to layout each section. This is what it looked like last night before bed. That is all sewn together in ONE piece. 

The double wedding ring quilt last night

When I got up this morning, I laid out the next section -- it's pieced on the diagonal. 

The next section is laid out and ready to sew

Yes, one block is missing because it's sitting at the sewing machine waiting to be pieced. Laying out the pieces went a lot smoother this morning, so hopefully, the sewing will as well. You cannot sew this together without laying it out. 

I still have a lot of components. In total, I have to make 42 blocks, and I'm almost half done. 

More components to sew together

I decided to leave this part of the paper on, and I'll remove it when I watch a baking show at home. But the rest of the paper has to be removed to sew it together. 

Paper to be removed later

Speaking of sewing, I'm going to be very sad to go home. This is my view at the moment, and I LOVE all the natural light. Yes  - my back is to everyone, but I'm in the same room, and we can chat no problem. 

Sewing with a view

I'm making good progress on the enders and leaders for Katheleen. I can't believe I didn't bring any of my own! But no worries -- it's all good. 

Katheleen's enders and leaders

It's the season of advent calendars. And I know two people participating in the Missouri Star Quilting Co advent calendar. Gwen sent me a couple of pictures from the first couple of days. Here is a charm pack that was in one of the packages. 

Charm pack from the MSQC advent calendar

Laura is into INK, and she is opening her Inkvent Calendar. Good grief -- there's an advent calendar for every interest. And Gwen made one for her husband, so they each have something to open every day. That's so thoughtful!!!

The Inkvent CAlendar

Each day, she gets a new color of ink!

Mini ink bottles

Back out for my walk. I didn't quite make my goal of 11.5 KM, as I was short by .3 KM, and I wasn't going to walk around the house or go down the driveway in the dark! The weather was brisk but beautiful. It may have been cool to stand around, but for walking, it was perfect. I wore my running shoes as the roads were pretty much dry. 

Running shoes for the walk

And there is virtually no traffic on this particular road, but when I go on the highways, there are many cars. But the shoulders are significant, and I walk right on the edge of the ditch, so I'm OK. 

The roads are dry

OK -- so we are going to have to cave. The trend of quilted clothing is back!! I wonder if I kept the gorgeous quilted duster coat I made years ago?? It was blues, purples, and black. 

I saw this on Instagram last night. Oh yes -- we must get out our coat patterns and get to work!! 

Quilted coat

Actually, I have two quilted coats and one I wear and the other I haven't. I should dig that out. It's probably gigantic on me, but it's nice, just the same. It can't be that big???? I'll check it out when I get home. 

On that note, many of the gang is now up. They are quietly chatting in the living room. I'm in the kitchen and going back to the sewing room to try and get that darn quilt done. It would be nice to work on one other project while I'm here. But my goal now is to finish this top. 

OH -- our entertainment director (Ronda) set up a movie for us last night - Red Notice. A comedy, and we all managed to stay awake. The quiet room is now also known as the movie theatre as it had the best place to put up the screen. So I got to watch the movie from my bed!!

Watching a movie from bed

The last presentation for the week got done. All that remains is next week - I have one a day. Three of them are the same presentation in the same language - English, and the other two are the same, and they are in French. How did that happen? 

So all is good in that area, and then I have a massive project to do with a steep learning curve. It's more the learning curve that makes it huge, and the deadline just got moved up by one week! ACK!!! 

OK -- I'm off to enjoy the day and keep on sewing!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Quilt Retreat - Day Two

 Yikes -- the days seem to be flying by. But that's OK. I'm making significant progress on my UFO, sleeping like a log, taking long walks, and trying to resist all the goodies.

I'm sleeping in the "quiet" room, and for some reason, that has a scary movie connotation to it. But it's not scary at all. There are two twin beds in there, and it's pretty large and cozy. I'm by myself, and I love it!

As for the walking, the weather was pretty nasty yesterday. Or let's say that it changed by the minute, but I found a 2-hour window with perfect weather. It's funny how everyone's perception of the weather is so different. It was NOT cold at all; there was no precipitation when I went out, although it was very windy. People came in from their cars and proclaimed -- "it's terrible out there." 

Oh no -- it's beautiful, and at one point, my jacket was open, and I didn't wear my mittens. When I went out later (in the car), the rain was biting your face, and it was still very windy - that was nasty! I'm so glad I went for a very long walk in the morning as I would never have made it out in the afternoon. Hey -- I don't mind walking in inclement weather, but if I don't have to - I won't. 

I did dig my boots out of the car as it would be muddy.

Walking boots

I walked down this muddy road - it's unpaved. I think the only unpaved road in the area. But I was OK. When I got to the next intersection, a couple of KM away, I turned left to walk on a paved road, and before I knew it, I was committed to walking around a large rectangle that took me to the edge of town and past Tim's. I didn't stop. 

Muddy country road

I think in total, that walk was close to 9 KM. But it was glorious. I do love my retreat friends, but with seven women in the house, some of whom are very chatty and sometimes loud and dramatic, it's nice to get away and have some solitude!!!

Like right now -- only one other person is up (I've been up for hours), and we are each doing our own thing -- it's quiet! Even quieter than at home, since Murphy isn't here to ask for pats on the head! Now there are two other people up, and it's still quiet. 

Walking is a solitary activity, and it's not only good for the body but so good for the soul. I think it's my saving grace and has helped enormously with decluttering and getting my act together for what I want to do in life. At my age! Imagine!

Anyway -- I know not everyone wants to walk or can walk, but I sure hope they find the equivalent. A quiet moment in the day to reflect on life. For each of us, it'll be different, but it's been amazing to find that solitude! I don't take music or an audiobook. I listen to nature or the traffic. I go through things in my head, and then they are gone. Imagine what our world would be like if people learned to entertain themselves with NOTHING but their own brains. Imagine the creativity - imagine that the problem of wanting things now and boredom would be gone! Imagine people loving themselves for who they are and not needing more. 

Anyway -- I digress, but you get the picture. We are entertained so much of the day that the solitude is heaven. 

I saw on Facebook recently the third anniversary of my first event with SVP as a sewing machine educator. Wow !!!! I've come a long way since then and learned so MUCH. 

Paula brought her featherweight machine so Katheleen, our in-house expert, could take a look at it. I think they found some thread in the bobbin case, and at one point, the machine was in bits, but it seems to be working much better now. 

The in-house retreat service center

Laura is working on a Postcards from Sweden quilt. Lots of pretty colors are made into half-square triangles. This quilt would drive me mad. There's so much keeping track of having a specific color in a particular spot. Laura is convinced that there's a rhyme and reason to it. I don't think there is at all. I say throw caution to the wind, make half-square triangles, and randomly sew them together. 

Half-square triangles for Postcards from Sweden

If you did that and then had a quick glance at your quilt versus the original, I bet there wouldn't be much difference. However, we are all different!  If you Google it, there are loads of people selling kits and patterns, although I think the pattern is free?? But also lots of people who made it differently. I started one randomly but haven't had a chance to get back to it. 

And there's Shelly, who is randomly and literally pulling her next pieces for her Christmas project from a paper bag. Go, Shelly, GO!!!!

Pulling fabric from a paper bag

And see how happy she is as she's doing this. That's what quilting is all about. 

EXCEPT when you pick a project like I did. While I would love to do what Shelly is doing and randomly pull pieces to sew together, my pattern requires more thought. A lot of thought to be truthful. 

The Bali Bed Runner

I managed to finish all the paper piecing yesterday and then had the fun task of trimming everything. Oh -- what a fun job. I like doing it, but it becomes a bit tedious doing the same thing over and over again. Not to worry -- we are making progress. I have to remember my goal of finishing by the end of this year. 

All the sections are being trimmed

And this is what happens when you don't carefully pack a project away. Oh my -- the edges have frayed somewhat, but they will survive. 

A badly frayed edge

Here are all the components. There is no significant color change in them, but I'm OK with that. It's a soft quilt and so NOT my usual color. 

Components cut and ready to sew

Those end squares are tricky, and because some of the edges are curved, you don't need to make entire blocks. But each block has six or seven pieces. And look at all those curved seams!!! I'm laying out the blocks in sections as that is the only way to ensure the right pieces get in the right spot.

One block for the double wedding ring quilt

It requires a LOT of brainpower to lay it out. I'm laying it out in the quiet room so I can focus. Then I carry it block by block to the sewing machine to put together. I have to find the rhythm I had when I sewed Paula's quilt together. That'll come today. 

Here's the back of one of the blocks. Oh yes -- don't forget that I have to remove all the paper before I sew them together. I'll remove the paper from the center part later. 

The back of one block

Even though we all have goodies here, I'm trying very hard not to touch more than I would at home. I do NOT have goodies after lunch, and most days, no goodies after dinner. But here, there are goodies all day long. My waistline will NOT tolerate this!! 

And then I added to the problem when I went to Tim's to get some of the Bieber Bits to try. We had been chatting about the flavors, so we had to try. 

Bieber Bits

They are OK -- I'm not a lover of the chocolate ones, but then I don't really like chocolate donuts, so that's not a surprise. I'm not a fan of donuts in general, so these were OK, but I won't buy them in the future. 

I promised a second blog post about more classes, and I was waiting for the shops to post them. Now that they have and I'm away -- it's a bit of a challenge to get all the information. So I'll give you the links to both places. 

And for those that have signed up for the Butterfly quilt by Tula Pink, do NOT waste your time trying to find the pattern. Oh yes -- I get e-mails from stores asking me which pattern specifically people are looking for! The pattern is NOT released yet. If we do not have it by the time the class starts, I'll provide you with what you need. The class doesn't start until January, there is LOADS of time, and I'll be providing a list of materials to those in the class when I'm home. For now -- PICK a color theme. And fat quarters will work fine. There is NO need to panic. 

Now for those class links. 

The Hobby Horse --- there are two sew alongs and a machine quilting class that goes for the entire year. 

Thimbles and Things -- there are two sew-alongs, free motion quilting, and some lectures. If you want to sign up, be sure to specify which free-motion session you want (there are two 2-part classes), and the lectures have two specific times you can sign up for. I made it that way to help you better plan your day1

That's the best I can do while I'm away. So in the meantime, rest up -- there's a LOT of work to be done next year!! I'll be acknowledging e-mails that I've already received in the coming week when I'm back home.

On that note, I think my FitBit is now charged up. It's still a bit dark to go for a walk along a country road, even though it's not very busy, but I'll get that long walk in, and I'll be good to go for the day. 

By the way, if you're super jealous of me on retreat, I have a couple of nights open for a retreat in January. You can e-mail me for more details. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!